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Today is Wednesday, April 17. We're

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talking about how the U.S. now plans

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to respond to Iran's attack on Israel,

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and why former President Trump got a stern

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warning during his first criminal trial. Also

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where Americans are cleaning up from

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tornado damage as the severe weather

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danger does continue. Plus how

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a piece of the International Space Station ended

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up crashing into a Florida home. What

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kind of jobs are making a comeback with Gen Z?

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And what game show NFL star Travis

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Kelsey will be hosting? Those

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stories and even more news to know in

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today's episode. Welcome,

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welcome to The Newsworthy. All the day's

0:38

news in around 10 minutes. Fast, fair,

0:40

fun, and on the go. I'm Erica

0:42

Mandy. Thanks so much for being here.

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You ready? Let's do this. The

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White House says it now has plans

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to hold Iran accountable for its unprecedented

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attack on Israel. But instead

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of attacking Iran in retaliation, the

0:59

U.S. is imposing sanctions. The

1:02

U.S. National Security Advisor said in a statement,

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the new sanctions would target Iran's missile and

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drone program and other groups that support the

1:08

country's military. There wasn't much more

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detail than that, but the New York Times

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cites a source who said, the U.S. is

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essentially looking for ways to cut off Iran's

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access to the parts that it needs to

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build weapons like drones. Already

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the U.S. has issued extensive sanctions over the

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years as part of a broad effort to

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keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. But

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Iran's military capabilities have still grown.

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And you'll remember over the weekend, Iran launched more

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than 300 missiles and drones at Israel. Most

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of them were intercepted and shot down by Israel

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and its allies, including the U.S. But it still

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sparked fears of a larger war in the Middle

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East. So on top of sanctions,

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the U.S. Treasury is preparing. President

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Biden is apparently also working with international

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partners and bipartisan leaders in Congress about

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an even stronger response. Plus, defense agencies

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are working on strengthening missile defense and

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early warning systems across the Middle East.

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East. Meanwhile, Israel's military is

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still promising to retaliate against Iran,

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despite the risks and warnings from allies.

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And the U.S. Congress is considering another

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aid package for Israel now. To

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be continued. Former

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President Trump's first criminal trial is speeding

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up a bit, and now the

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judge says opening statements could begin as soon as

2:22

next week. So far, seven of

2:25

the 12 jurors have been selected and

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sworn in. Many, many more,

2:29

though, have been weeded out. During the

2:31

selection process, Trump spent hours listening to

2:33

potential jurors offer their opinions of him.

2:36

And his lawyers picked apart some of

2:38

their old social media posts, looking for

2:40

any indication they might have a bias

2:42

against their client. At one point, the

2:44

judge reprimanded the former president for visibly

2:46

and audibly reacting, accusing him of trying

2:48

to intimidate jurors. Remember, in

2:51

this case, prosecutors say Trump orchestrated a

2:53

scheme before the 2016 election to pay

2:55

off an adult film actress to keep

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her quiet about an affair. And what

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made this illegal was, they say, Trump

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created a false paper trail to hide

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the true purpose and source of the

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payment. But Trump says he

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is innocent and he has pleaded not

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guilty. Jury selection is set

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to continue tomorrow. Since the court is not

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in session today, former President Trump is expected

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to return to the campaign trail. President

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Biden is already on a campaign swing

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in Pennsylvania now. Change

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of plans for a big controversial road

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project through the Alaskan wilderness. The

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original plan was for a 211 mile industrial road

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to be built, allowing access to a

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large copper deposit worth seven and a

3:37

half billion dollars. The issue

3:39

is that copper deposit is buried

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under ecologically sensitive land. So

3:44

for years, opponents have argued it would

3:46

threaten wildlife and Alaskan native tribes that

3:48

rely on hunting and fishing. And

3:50

then the Interior Department apparently agreed in

3:52

its analysis that an industrial road would

3:54

hurt the environment and tribal communities. But

3:57

supporters say it was actually an environmental venture.

4:00

since the copper thereafter is critical to

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make wind turbines, as well as transmission

4:04

lines for wind, solar, and other renewable

4:06

energy. The Trump administration first approved

4:08

a permit back in 2020, and

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Alaska's two U.S. senators and one U.S.

4:13

House rep all supported it. But

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now the Biden administration seems to be

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undoing it and is reportedly saying not

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gonna happen. That decision is

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expected to be formally announced today. This

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week, federal regulators finally issued new

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protections for miners that were actually

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recommended half a century ago. Because

4:32

of these protections, mining companies will have

4:35

to limit the concentrations of a type

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of dust that's been known to cause

4:39

deadly lung illnesses. Both mine

4:41

safety advocates and industry groups generally support

4:43

the rule change, but they do have

4:45

different opinions about how it should be

4:47

enforced. For example, mining trade groups

4:49

argue the requirements are too broad and

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too costly, while miners' advocates say

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the requirements don't go far enough, since

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companies are largely left to police themselves.

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Those disagreements are apparently just part

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of the reason this regulatory process

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has spanned for presidential administration. Over

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the years, officials have blamed competing priorities

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and politics for the slow progress, and

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unfortunately, during the years of delays, rates

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of severe black lung have surged, especially

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among miners in their 30s and 40s.

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Now the new rule adopts exactly what was proposed

5:21

back in the 1970s. Plus,

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workers will have to get access to regular medical

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exams. It will fully go into effect over

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the next couple of years. Parts

5:31

of the Midwest are recovering from severe

5:33

weather that ripped roofs off buildings, tore

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homes and farms apart, and left at

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least two people hurt. Several tornadoes,

5:40

large hail, and high winds are

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reported across many states, like Iowa,

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Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. Today,

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the severe storm threat shifts east.

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Thunderstorms are expected across parts of

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Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee,

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and they could bring more tornadoes, heavy rain,

5:56

hail, and so on through this evening. The

5:58

Northeast could also get some... soaking rain, though it's

6:01

not expected to be severe. More

6:05

news is still ahead, but first, this episode is brought

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z-o-c-d-o-c.com/newsworthy. zockdoc.com slash newsworthy. Now

7:08

back to the news. Look

7:11

at this, a piece of metal

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randomly crashed into a Florida home

7:15

recently, and this week NASA confirmed

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it was space junk from the

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International Space Station. It came

7:21

from a cargo pallet that weighed thousands of

7:24

pounds and was packed with aging batteries. It

7:27

was released on purpose from the ISS three years

7:29

ago and was supposed

7:31

to burn up harmlessly in Earth's atmosphere. But

7:34

NASA says a roughly two pound piece of it seems

7:37

to have survived and landed on a

7:39

house in Naples, Florida. It

7:42

crashed through the roof and two floors of the home. Thankfully,

7:44

no one was hurt, but it was

7:47

apparently a pretty close call with people just a couple

7:49

of rooms away from the debris. Now

7:51

NASA says a more detailed investigation is underway

7:54

about how the object was able to withstand

7:56

the extreme trip through the atmosphere and

7:58

whether it needs to find a new way. to dispose of

8:00

space debris in the future. Boeing

8:05

will be the main focus of two

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hearings on Capitol Hill today. First, a

8:09

group of senators will hear from safety

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aviation experts behind the recent report that

8:13

criticized Boeing's safety culture and called for

8:15

significant improvements. The second hearing

8:17

will feature a former Boeing engineer who

8:19

says the company took shortcuts in manufacturing

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some of its biggest jets, and

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he'll testify alongside another whistleblower. Boeing

8:27

though says his claims are not true, and

8:29

it's standing by their aircraft's safety. Of

8:31

course, this all comes as the plane maker

8:33

faces intense scrutiny that really picked up after

8:35

a plane came apart mid-air back in January.

8:38

And since then, regulators have limited the

8:40

company's production, and its aircraft deliveries fell

8:43

by half last month. There

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has also been a management shakeup at Boeing,

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but executives are said to be cooperating with

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lawmakers' investigations and are expected to be at

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future hearings later this year. Amazon

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Music is the latest to embrace

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more artificial intelligence. This week, it

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announced an AI playlist generator called

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Maestro. It allows customers

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on both Apple and Android devices

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to create playlists using just spoken

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or written prompts. So those

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prompts can include activities, sounds, or emotions.

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They can even include emoji. Within

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seconds, an AI-generated playlist will pop up

9:18

that will apparently match your prompt. People

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can then save their playlists and share it with friends.

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It's all pretty similar to Spotify's AI

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playlist, which was rolled out to select

9:28

countries earlier this month. For

9:30

now, Maestro is in the testing phase, so

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it's only going out to select free Amazon

9:34

Music users, as well as subscribers and Prime

9:37

customers on the Amazon Music app. Though

9:39

the company says it will be expanding over

9:41

time. Football

9:44

star Travis Kelsey is beginning a new side

9:46

hustle as a game show host. The

9:48

Kansas City Chiefs tight end is set to host

9:51

a new spin-off of Are You Smarter Than a

9:53

Fifth Grader. This version is called

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Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? And

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yes, it will be full of celebrity cameos. Each

10:00

game will welcome a contestant who can

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work with a classroom full of celebrities

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to help them answer questions all pulled

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from elementary school curriculum. And there's a

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$100,000 prize on the line. Kelsey

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says he grew up loving game shows, so he's

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excited to be hosting his very first one. This

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expands his profile even more since he's

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already popular as an NFL player and

10:20

podcast host and has become a

10:23

household name since he started dating pop star

10:25

Taylor Swift. Are you smarter than

10:27

a celebrity is set to air on Amazon's

10:29

prime video. As of now though,

10:31

there's no release date set. That's

10:35

it for the main news today. So now it's

10:37

time for work Wednesday. When we break down one

10:39

interesting career or work related news story every Wednesday.

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But first a quick thank you to our sponsor,

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Start the new year with confidence. Thanks to Honeylove. Okay.

11:44

Now back to work Wednesday. America's

11:47

skilled trades like plumbing, welding, vehicle

11:49

repair and construction seem to be

11:51

making a comeback, especially

11:53

among the youngest American workers in

11:55

Gen Z enrollment in

11:57

vocational programs and applications to. trade

12:00

jobs are ticking up, just as enrollment

12:02

is falling at four-year and community colleges.

12:05

And the jobs seem to be there for the taking. There's

12:08

a shortage of skilled tradespeople, since more older

12:10

workers have retired than have been trained to

12:12

take their places. But now

12:14

a shift is underway as Gen Z starts

12:16

getting technical training. Experts say part of it

12:18

is because the stigmas and stereotypes about the

12:21

working class seem to be going away. But

12:23

also there's the rising cost of a four-year

12:25

degree and the rising pay for trades jobs.

12:28

The U.S. Labor Department says a good number of them pay at

12:30

least $80,000 or even close to

12:32

$100,000 a year, no college education required. And

12:36

several of those jobs are expected to see even more

12:38

growth over the next 10 years. Thank

12:42

you so much for joining us today and for sharing the

12:44

show. It really helps us out when you

12:46

let others know you listen and encourage them to give it

12:48

a try too. Thank you so much for

12:51

all of your support. We'll catch you up on

12:53

more news to know tomorrow. Until then, have

12:55

a great day.